ericsson



(No Mammal.) 3 sheets-sheet 1.

J. ERICSSON.

STEAM ENGINE. No. 247,813. Patented Got. 4,1881.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

J. ERICSSON.

STEAM ENGINE.

Patented Oct. 4, 18 81.

#www Le 'L 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. JI ERICSSON.

SfILlJMIv ENGINE.

(No Model.)

Patentad 001;. 4,1881.)

UNITED raras PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN ERICSSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO COR NELIUs n. DnrgAEi/gajiiianjann e.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 247,813, dated October 4, 1881.

H. ROBINSON, OF SAME PLACE.

STEAM-ENGINE.

Application iilcd July 1, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN ERtcssoN, ofthe city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam-Engines, of which the following is a specification,reference being had-to the accompanying drawings.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a reciprocating steam-en gine which is 1o capable of runnin g at a very much higher velocity than the reciprocating steam-engines in common use, and which is thereby betteradapted as a motor for dynamo-electric machines and other machines requiring to be driven at high speed,and for the driving effvwhich it is desirable to dispense, as fari as practicable, with driving-beltsand gearing; In an engine running at so high a velocity it is desirable to obtain the greatest possible stability in 2o proportion to its weight and the greatest possible strength in the connections ot' the parts; to reduce as far as practicable the number of parts to be lubricated, and to provide, as far as possible, for the automatic lubrication of such parts as have to be lubricated. These ends Iaccomplish by the construction and arrangement ot' parts embodied in the engine ilv lustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section of a steam-enginewith my improvements, taken in' a plane parallel. with the crank-shaft. Fig.2 is a transverse section of two disks forming parts of the jointbetween the main connecting-rod and piston. Fig.3isafaceviewofoneofthesaiddisks.

Fig. 4 is a vertical central section of the engine, taken at right angles to Fig. 1. Fig-5 is a side view of the valve-stem, lyelveirod,and their connections. Fig. 5* is ahside lview, on

a larger scale, of the upper part of the valveconnecting rod. Fig. 6 is a plan of the standard and crank. Fig. 7 is a horikontal section of the base and steam-cylinder.

B is the base of the engine, made hollow in the form of an inverted box, ot'upright cylindrical or other suitable form, of a depth somewhat greater than the length of the cylinder, and having the sides and bottom of the cylinder C cast with it in the form of a pot dependent from its upper part. The base and cylinder being thus constructed, give greatstability to the engine, and the base forms an air-jacket to the cylinder for retaining the heat therein. On the base B is erected an upright hollow column or standard, D, on the top of which 5 5 are the bearings H H for the journals of the main or crank shaft E.

F is thepiston,constructed orprovided with a hollow central rod or trunk, F', workin g through a stuffing-box, C2, in the cylinder- 6o cover C.

G is the main connecting-rod, connected with the piston by a transverse pin-joint at a in the manner to be presently described. This rod is represented as eighteen times the length of the crank of the main shaft, and its vibration is, therefore, very little more than three degrees of a circle, so that there is a very slight oscillation ot' the joint-pin a, and very little side thrust, so that the piston may be guided 7o by the trunk or hollow rod F' and stuffing-box O2 without the necessity of cross-head or slides and without the necessity of making the said trunk or rod of large size. The exterior of said trunk or rod is kept lubricated by oil or tallow contained in the small cup b, formed in the gland of the stuffing-box C2. The pin a is rigidly secured in the lower end of the connecting-rod by being properly fitted to a hole bored through the lower part of the latter, and in- 8o serted thereinto while the latter is hot, and permitting the latter to shrink upon it by cooling; and the pin projects from the opposite sides ot' the rod in the form of cylindrical journals. The said pin is connected with the piston within the latter by means of two disks, c c, which are itted together, as shown in Fig. 2, to form journal-boxes for the said pin, and are secured in the piston by a follower, d, screwed into the bottom of the piston. To enable it to receive 9o these disks and follower the piston is bored from its under side, as shown in Fig. 1, to a shoulder, e, and has a screw-thread cut around the interior ofthe mouth of this to receive the screw-thread on the exterior ol' the follower. 95 'lhe said disks are solid, except that cach has formed within it one-half of each of the two bearings ff for the pin a, and a central slot or opening, g, for the portion of the connecting-rod which receives the said pin. roe

They are secured firmly against the shoulder e by the follower d. Above the shoulder e there is provided in the piston a cavity, h, which communicates with the interior of the tru nk or hollow piston-rod, and below the disks o c there is a cavity, t', in the follower d, and there is, therefore, formed within the piston and piston rod or trunk a well or reservoir, into which oil or tallow is introduced through the upper end of the piston rod or trunk, and which may be kept supplied with oil or melted tallow, with which the lower end of the connecting-rod and pin a are always surrounded, so that the whole of the pin-joint can never fail to be properly lubrrated.

The crank-arms E ll' ol' the main shat't are represented as having iitted over them disks E2 E2, which are concentric to their shaft, and which are secured to them by set-screws Ll. These disks serve as counter-balances to the arms and crank-wrist, and also as fly-wheels.

For the purpose of providing for the oiling of the crank-wrist and the box m m', which connects it with the connecting-rod G, there is cast in the cap m ol' the said box a. large oil-cup, m2, in the center of which is a tube, m3, which is open at the top, and which forms the only'communication between the oil-cup and the wrist-bearing. In the lower part of this tube is inserted snugly a plug, n, formed by rolling up somewhat tightly a strip ofmus- 1in, canvas, or other woven tibrons material. This plug is secured in the tube, so that its lower end touches the wrist by means ota small pin, a', inserted transversely through holes in the tube above the said plug.

The cup m2 is to be supplied with oil through an epeninxzr in fis top, which is fitted with'a tight screw-cap, m4. When the engine is in operation the oil is thrown by the vibration ot' the rod from the cup m2 into the upper part of the tube m3, down which it flows to the brous plug n, through which it passes to the wrist in quantity regulated by the tightness with which the said plug is rolled. By this plug the supply of oil can be more perfectly regulated without waste than is possible with a wick.

I is the slide-valve for the induction and ednction of steam. 'the seat h of this valve, the cylinder-ports t" i', and the exhaustcove k are represented as constructed in the same casting with the cylinder and the base B. The valve consists simply of a at plate with an opening, 0, through it of proper shape for the exhaust-space, and is straddled, as shown in Fig. 7, bya saddle, J, which is also represented in Fig. l. This saddle tits the back and sides of the valve, and also lits between the sides of the valve-chest K, and forms a guide to the valve. It is leid up steam-tight to the back o1' the valve by means of light springs p p, which are secured to its own back and bear against the inside of the back of the valvechest K, and it is held against longitudinal movement between set-screws q q, screwing through the ends ofthe chest.

The -valve'is operated by a crank, L, on one end ofthe main shaft and a connecting-rod, M, which is connected with the valvestem I in a peculiar way, illustrated in Fig. l by a pinjoint composed of a piston,N,and ajoint-pin, r, the said piston working in a stationary cylinder, O, which is firmly secured in an upright position to the column D or framing ot' the engine, and which serves both as a guide 1.o the valve'stem and an oilreservoir for oiling the joint. The cylinder O is bored throughoutof nnif'orm size. The piston is formed upon or rigidly secured to the head ol the valvestem I. Its head or principal portion, which receives the pin 9', is represented as madein the same piece with the stem l, on which, below the said head, there is a screwthread for the reception of a nut, s, by which a leather cup packing, iitted to the cylinder O, is secured to the said head. The. piston N is slotted from the top for the reception otl the lower end o1.' the connecting-rod M, which and the piston have holes bored transversely through thcln for the recept-ion of the joint-pin o'. The por tion ofthe cylinder O above the piston N forms a reservoir, which is kept copiously supplied with oil. This oil cannot pass the cup-packing ot' t-he piston, but it keeps the pin r and all the surfaces of thejoint between thevalvestem and rod immersed, and therefore thoroughly lubricated, while at the same timel it lubricates the su ri'aces oi' the cylinder and pis ton, which serve as guides to the valve-stein.

The connection of the upper end ot' the val vc. connecting rod M with the wrist of the crank Lis made by a slotted head, L', which is mad'y separate from the rod, and the lower part et' which is bored for the passage ofthe rod, he latter having a screw-thread, u, on its upper part, which enters the slot e ot the yoke, and a screw-thread, u', lower down below the head L', the said screw-tlneads being` iitted with nuts ar', and between which the bottom part of the head is clamped and secured to the rod.

The upper halt', w, of the crank-wrist box. is represented as made in the head itsell, and the lower part ot" a separate brass, u", which is fitted to the slot c, and which is set up to theI wrist by a nut, y, screwed onto the thread oi the rod, a jam-nut, y', being also fitted to the said thread below y', to secure the adjustment of the box to the wrist. The upper part ot' the head L is represented as furnished with an oilcup having a central tube fitted with a fibrous plug precisely as is the main crank-wrist box. mv m', as hereinbefore described.

The above-described method ot'const-ructing the connection between the valve-connecting 1 rod and its,operatingcrank provides conven iently for screwing up or adjusting the lower brass, w', as required, while dispensing with straps and keys, which, owing to the very high velocity of the engine, would be apt to become loose.

I do not here claim the construction ol the connection between the valve-stein and the valve-rod as iilustrated in Figs. 5 and 5*" ot' for Letters Patent.

What I claim as my invention is 1, In a reciprocating engine, the combination, with the piston constructed Wtha central bore initsnnder portion and provided with' an upright hollow rod or trunk in communication with the bore in the piston to form a receptacle for a lubricant, of the connecting-rod provided at its lower end with a pin projecting from opposite sides of the rod in the form of cylindrical journals, the two loose disks arranged centrally in the piston-body and provided With slots and semi-cylindrical bearings for the reception of the connecting-rod and its journals, and the follower fitted to a screwthread in the piston and capable of rotating independent of the lower disk, for holding and adjusting the partsin position, all substantially as described.

2. A connection between the valve-stein and its connecting-rodof a steam-engine and a guide for the said stem, consisting of the coinbination of a packed piston formed or secured on the valve-stem, a joint-pin connecting the said rod with the said.l piston, and a stationary cylinder in which the said piston works, and which forms an oil-reservoir, substantially as herein described.

J. ERICSSON.

Witnesses: e

S. W. TAYLOR, FREDK. HAYNES. 

